(Bloomberg) -- UBS Group AG Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti attacked Switzerland’s banking regulators, saying that a discussion around too-big-to-fail rules has been set off by local authorities who are trying too hard.
With the financial crisis almost a decade behind, a continued “biting headwind” of new rules set by financial watchdog Finma and other regulators is a drag on profitability, he said.
“The majority of foreign analysts and investors find the Swiss system increasingly difficult to understand,” Ermotti said late Tuesday in a speech in Zurich. “The Swiss finish has gone from being a seal of approval to a burden.”
Switzerland’s Finance Ministry is weighing tougher capital requirements for the biggest firms playing a key role in the financial system, a move backed by the Swiss National Bank. Strict capital rules -- which build on international standards and are known as the “Swiss finish” -- have proved a thorn in the side of the nation’s biggest banks as they shift into growth mode after years of painful restructurings.
UBS (NYSE:UBS) was little changed little changed as of 9:04 a.m. in Zurich.
Its not the first time Ermotti has taken aim at local regulation. In 2017, the CEO told Bloomberg Markets that “people should never take things for granted,” including staying in Switzerland. Ermotti has led UBS since 2011, a time during which he trimmed down huge trading floors at Switzerland‘s largest bank and steered the institution increasingly towards wealth management.
“Big is bad, small is good,” Ermotti said was the message he received from regulators. “I am criticizing the constant fear-mongering.”
(Adds earlier Ermotti comments, shares from fifth paragraph.)
